The Shades In Between
by MaciS
Summary: She had broken that oath long before Beca had – she was just good at keeping it a secret. A series of interrelated one-shots that take a look at Stacie and Donald's relationship, behind closed doors. T for suggestive themes and language.
1. Un

**~ The Shades In Between ~**

**Chapitre _Un_ **

* * *

The sound of a phone buzzing loudly had her opening bleary eyes. Beside her, he shifted, sitting up.

"Shit," he muttered, as he reached over to grab his phone. "Bumper, man, this better be good if you had to wake me up at six in the morning."

She couldn't hear Bumper's reply, but whatever it was, it must have been good. She could feel Donald relaxing as he blew a breath. "Yeah I'll come get you, but only 'cause you got laid last night. I'll be there in ten."

She closed her eyes again when he hung up and turned towards her. His hand ran up and down the length of her arm, and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Stacie, baby," he murmured.

"Hmm?" she said, lifting her head up so that she was looking at him. He hadn't put his glasses on yet, so his eyes were lidded, trying to see her better. "What's wrong?"

"Bumper," Donald replied, hand still stroking her arm distractedly. "Went back to some chick's room last night, apparently. He doesn't have a ride back, and he sounded like he wanted to get the hell out. I need to go pick him up."

"Doesn't sound like something Bumper would do." Stacie stretched, disentangling her legs from Donald's.

His mouth curved. "He's probably trying to make Amy jealous. You know he's had a thing for her ever since Hood Night." He stood up, and began rummaging around his closet for clothes.

"That's probably going to work a little _too_ well," Stacie said, watching as Donald zipped up his jacket. "Amy's not really good at keeping secrets. What if Aubrey finds out?"

"Relax babe. Bumper's probably going to lord it over her so much she's going to figure out he did it to piss her off. He's not very good at getting girls to sleep with him." He walked back towards her, tilted her head and kissed her. Stacie smiled. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Mm, I'll keep your bed warm for you." She snuggled deeper into the warmth of the covers, giving him a saucy smile and a wink.

He grabbed his keys, shaking his head. "Tempting me to join in?" he quipped.

She blinked innocently. "Tempting? Whatever do you mean?"

Donald laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "See you in a few."

He left, closing the door behind him. Stacie breathed in deeply, pulling the covers to her more tightly. Though living in a dorm certainly had its perks, she could appreciate the convenience of living in an off-campus house. For one, it was a lot more private – since Donald shared it with Bumper only, he was the only one who knew about them two hooking up – and was a hell of a lot more comfortable. Donald's bed was at least twice as big as hers.

She closed her eyes. Bumper and Donald had gotten a nice one too – from the little of it she'd seen at least, she added privately – at a reasonable distance from campus. It couldn't be more than a five minute drive tops, which made her wonder why Bumper couldn't have walked all the way here and then called Donald to open the door.

_Probably to get people talking_, she thought, smiling inwardly. Over the course of her _thing_ with Donald, she'd gotten to know Bumper pretty well. His love for attention was as prevalent off-stage as on.

But he was a good friend. He hadn't ratted her out to Aubrey – hadn't even blinked the first time he'd seen her here, wearing only one of Donald's t-shirts – and Stacie would be eternally grateful.

She liked being a part of the Bellas, but she liked Donald (and sex with Donald, she admitted to herself, grinning), so it was nice to know she could have the best of both worlds – have her cake and eat it too.

She drifted into wakefulness again when she felt Donald press several open-mouthed kisses to her neck. Stacie turned her head, meeting his lips head on in a searing kiss. She hummed appreciatively at the back of her throat when he took her bottom lip in between his teeth. Donald was hands-on the best kisser she'd ever had the pleasure of locking lips with.

"Gross guys, get a room," Bumper's voice floated behind them.

Stacie ignored him, happy to continue kissing Donald, who seemed only too glad to oblige her. "We _are _in a room, Bumper," she said, shifting slightly so that Donald could slide in next to her. Her head immediately settled on his chest, his fingers stroking her hair. "You're the one who barged in on us, which makes me wonder. Do you want to watch? Cause I could get into that."

Bumper visibly shuddered. "Stace, that _really_ was a visual I could've done without," he said as Donald laughed.

He ruffled her hair. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around," he told her appreciatively.

Before Stacie could open her mouth, Bumper intervened. He raised his eyes to the ceiling in prayer. "Dear God dear Lord, Stacie _please_ no graphic comment of a remotely sexual nature. I don't need to know any more details about you and Donald's sex life."

Stacie smiled apologetically. She didn't have to guess as to what Bumper was referring to – if it wasn't the love bites, bruises, or hickeys that routinely adorned her and Donald's necks, it was that they weren't exactly _quiet _when it came to having sex.

And they had a lot of it.

It wasn't really her fault – _well, maybe a little bit, Stace_, she thought – but Donald was an exceptionally good lover. A practically insatiable one too.

It made for a good combination.

"So what's up?" Stacie asked, her fingers stroking the expanse of Donald's stomach. She smiled inwardly when she felt the muscles underneath tighten subtly.

"My main man here just got laid," Donald filled in, hand moving up and down her back.

"And who's the lucky girl?" Stacie inquired.

"Hot junior chick who's had a thing for me for a while now," he replied vaguely. Stacie looked at Bumper, highly entertained – if he puffed up anymore, she was sure he'd explode. "We had a great night but you know, I had to get away. Make sure she understood it was only a one-time thing."

Donald and Stacie shared an amused look. "What's the plan now, Casanova?" Donald asked, sliding one of his hands behind her calves.

"No plan," he replied. "Gonna go rest for a few hours. Relax a little."

"And rub the fact you got laid into Amy's face," Stacie finished.

Bumper shrugged, but there was a betraying glimmer in his eyes. "Hey, whatever happens, happens." He stood up. "And by that I fully mean yes. Catch you guys later."

"You want to order in for lunch?" Donald asked, right as Bumper left the room.

"Sounds like a plan."

Stacie sighed happily once the door closed, tilting her head slightly so that she was looking at Donald. "Alone again," she said, the corners of her mouth turning suggestively as she slid the zipper of Donald's jacket down.

His eyes were even darker as he flipped them over, so that he was lying on top of her. He brought his hands to her face. "Finally," he murmured as he pulled her in for another kiss.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This will be more a series of disconnected one-shots/vignettes than an actual full-blown chaptered story with a steady continuity and plot. It's more of a 'snapshots' type of thing, so I might go back and forth in time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Much love!


	2. Deux

**Chapitre** _**Deux **_

* * *

They had lost the Riff-Off – she couldn't believe it.

Apparently Aubrey couldn't believe it either. Barely a minute after they were so unceremoniously "cut off!" she had left in a huff, Chloe and a couple of the other girls trailing anxiously after her.

Stacie, however, couldn't bring herself to be quite as upset as Aubrey so clearly was. Especially when _he_ looked so good, standing over there, clapping hands with his friends over their victory.

She peered at him discretely through her eyelashes, careful not to tip off any of the other girls. Beca, Amy, and Cynthia-Rose had chosen to stay behind as well, and they were all currently gathered in a little circle of their own.

Jesse wandered over to them soon enough, and started talking to Beca about something or other. Stacie smiled to herself – poor guy was crushing so hard it was kind of adorable. Her eyes slid over to the Trebles and she bit her lip.

Donald looked good enough to eat.

She shook her head. She _couldn't_. She'd sworn an oath. Aubrey would hand her ass over to her if she ever found out.

And yet…

Stacie wondered if some of Donald's appeal came from the fact that hooking up with him would be _so wrong_. She was never one to deny herself a thrill – never mind a challenge as deliciously attractive as the one she was presented with.

"Well hello there, losers."

She turned around just in time to see Bumper walking towards them, a superior smirk on his face. _Oh, what now?_

Amy gave him a withering look. "Jackass," she replied smoothly. "What do you want?"

Bumper's expression was a strange mixture of disdain and amusement. "Please. Nothing _you _can give me," he retorted. "I was just wondering if you girls were heading over to the party too."

"Party?" Stacie echoed at the same time as Amy. They looked at Beca, who looked at Jesse. "What party?" she asked.

Jesse shrugged, a small helpless smile on his face. "SBT is having this little thing over at their place. We thought it might be fun to go there."

"Sounds great!" Amy said, enthused. "All right party!"

Stacie couldn't help but agree. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" She said, bumping hips with Beca and Amy.

Cynthia-Rose shook her head, smiling wryly. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll pass on the frat guy party."

"Too much sausage and not enough cat if you know what I mean," Amy whispered. Stacie and Beca shared an amused look.

"Catch you later then," Beca said. Stacie's eyebrows rose.

"Beca, you going?" She asked.

"Well, I mean, I'm not sure but…" Beca's voice trailed as Jesse leaned in close to her. Stacie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

"Say yes, Beca, _please_," he begged. "You can ride with me and my friends."

That caught Stacie's attention, all right. "Hey wait a second," she said. "Who's going to give me and Amy a ride?"

"Donald has a car. You girls could come with us," Bumper offered. An uncharacteristic show of kindness, Stacie thought. She could hazard a guess as to what it meant.

Apparently, her and Amy were on the same wavelength. The blonde shook her head. "No way in hell will I ever climb into a car with –,"

"She means yes," Stacie cut in, grabbing Amy's arm and smiling sweetly. "We'd love to go."

Amy looked at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes. "Stace, no! We can't go with them!"

"Think about it Amy, do you want to go to that party or do you not?"

Amy blinked once. "Good point."

They waved goodbye to Beca, who looked a little out of her element, walking with Jesse and a couple of the other Trebles, as they followed Bumper to Donald's car.

Stacie felt a little too satisfied with herself. Bumper had presented her with the golden opportunity to be in a car with the guy she wouldn't mind ripping articles of clothing off of. She'd be damned if she didn't seize it.

"Donald, man, we're giving these two a ride to SBT," Bumper said, climbing into the car.

Donald's eyebrows rose between the lenses of his glasses. He looked at them and his eyes locked onto Stacie's. He smirked. "We are, aren't we?"

"Trust me, we'd rather not be here either," Amy said, glancing at Bumper with a catty smile on her face. "As soon as we get to SBT, me and Stace will find some hot men to make-out with." Amy elbowed her suggestively.

Stacie gave a brilliant smile, her eyes still firmly on Donald's. "Hope I can do more than just make-out," she replied, watching his smirk grow even wider as she got into the car.

A bold move, to be sure, but no one ever got anywhere without taking risks. And besides, it seemed to have paid off, she mused, watching as Donald started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

God, even the way he drove was sexy. What was she ever going to do?

_Him_.

The car came to a stop. "We're here," Bumper said. Stacie licked her lips.

_Let the games begin._

* * *

She found him lounging on a wall at the far back of the room, nursing a drink and looking every bit the picture of sin. They'd gotten to the party about twenty minutes ago – the time she'd deemed appropriate to hang out with Amy and Beca without them getting too suspicious – and she was glad she'd found him as quickly as she did.

His mouth curved when he saw her strutting towards him.

"Hey," he said, as she pressed her back to the cool wall. "How's it going?" Even though the music was on to insanely high levels, she could hear him rather well.

"Not bad," she said, subtly shifting closer to him. "How about you?"

Donald's eyes slid towards her – he seemed to have noticed exactly what she was doing – and in them, Stacie thought she glimpsed a challenge.

He smirked and turned around, angling his body so that his forearms rested on either side of her head, his face so close to hers she could hear him breathe.

Stacie was pleased to notice that his eyes were fixed on her lips. "Doing better now," he replied languidly, their mouths a breadth apart. "Stacie, what're you trying to do?"

She tilted her head so that she was looking straight into his eyes, and fought to repress a shiver. They were lidded and dark, and that was all the conformation she needed – he wanted her, wanted _this_, as much as she did.

"You know what," she murmured, letting her hand trail down the expanse of his jacket. She stopped just shy away from the waistband of his jeans.

Donald's eyes darkened even further and, without a moment's notice, crashed his lips to hers.

Stacie almost moaned with delight. _Finally_! This was happening. One of her arms slid around his neck, fingernails scraping delicately at the nape, while the other fisted in his jacket.

His tongue was doing incredible things to her mouth, her insides, _her_. She felt like she was burning from the inside out.

How could he turn her on with just a simple kiss?

His knee settled comfortably in between her legs as he continued kissing her, groaning when she slipped her hand underneath his shirt.

Donald broke the kiss, trailing his mouth languidly up and down her neck. "My place?" he asked, panting slightly.

Stacie didn't even blink. "Okay."

"Won't you get in trouble for this?" he said teasingly.

"It's not trouble if I don't get caught," she replied back, a saucy smile on her lips.

He kissed her mouth. "Point taken."

They began walking, weaving in and out of the thick throng of people still dancing. Stacie followed Donald at a reasonable distance away, hoping to avoid suspicion.

She saw Donald run into Bumper. _Shit._

"Hey, man, you going already?" Bumper asked, sounding only moderately intoxicated.

"Yeah, but I'm too drunk to drive, so I'm trusting you with my car." Donald tossed the keys, which Bumper caught easily. "I'm gonna take a cab back home. Sober up a little before you drive, yeah?"

Bumper looked at him haughtily. "Don't worry, I'll have it under control."

As soon as they were out of the house, Stacie caught up with him. "You lied," she said breezily. "You're not drunk."

He glanced at her, amused. "I'm not," he agreed. "But I won't have to deal with Bumper harassing me about ditching him at a party for a girl."

"Smart," she said, watching him as he hailed a cab. She felt oddly nervous and impatient at the same time as Donald gave the driver his address. It was an uncanny mix – not entirely unpleasant, but something she definitely hadn't experienced before.

Stacie never did nervous; especially when it came to boys.

Donald's hand settled on her thigh, kneading it methodically. Her head tipped backwards.

"Feel good?" he murmured against her neck.

"Great," she replied, biting back a moan when his hand moved dangerously upwards.

When the driver dropped them off and Donald opened the door, it was all Stacie could do to not jump him then and there. However, he seemed to be as impatient as she was because his hands went to the back of her thighs and he picked her up, pressing his lips to hers.

Stacie twined her legs around his waist as he carried her to his room, kicking the door shut with his foot.

Still kissing her, he placed her on the floor and quickly took her coat and shirt off, his hands roaming on the newly exposed skin.

"Like what you see?" she said, fusing their lips together once more.

"Oh, hell yes," he replied.

Stacie pulled his shirt over his head, raking her nails across his smooth, muscled chest. She looked at him appreciatively. He was _ripped. _

"Like what you see?" he whispered into her ear teasingly as they moved backwards. She laughed breathlessly when her legs hit the back of his bed and she crashed onto it, dragging him with her.

"Hell yes."

They began kissing again, and there was no turning back.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you guys for the lovely reviews/follows! Hope you guys like this one too :) As some of you might know, **favoriting **without **reviewing** is one of my major pet peeves, so please don't do it. Follow the story instead – it tells me that you're interested. Favoriting tells me you absolutely loved it. It takes time to write a story, so reviews make it worth the while.

Much love!


	3. Trois

**Chapitre _Trois_**

* * *

Saturday was Pancake Day.

Ever since Donald had started seeing Stacie, she'd been spending more and more time at his place. It had come to the point where she would pack a bag for the weekend, because the amount of back-and-forth trips had become ridiculous, and they could barely get enough of each other anyway.

And every Saturday, Stacie would make pancakes. Wearing one of his shirts.

Donald couldn't even begin to figure out why that seemed to turn him on so much. Something about those long legs being so exposed, combined with Stacie's insane ability to make anything she did look sexy, just did him in.

"I smell pancakes," Bumper said, practically tripping over himself as he sprinted out of his room. Donald smirked. Bumper had also become a very quick fan of Pancake Day.

Donald couldn't really blame him. God knows, the two of them didn't really care much for cooking, and Stacie's pancakes were so _goddamn_ good it was crazy. It was a very nice change of pace from the stale bagels and burnt toast they usually had –when they were too lazy to go out to grab breakfast at some café that is. That, however, happened more than Donald cared to admit.

He smiled when he entered the kitchen, looking at Stacie – wearing only his shirt as per usual, he noted, smiling wider – who was busy pouring the last of the pancake batter on a pan.

"Oh hey babe," she said, as he kissed her in greeting.

"Hey," Donald replied, sliding one of his arms around her waist. "Need any help?"

Stacie leaned into his touch. "Actually, could you just bring me three plates? I'm almost done."

"Sure thing," he said, walking over to grab the plates. He placed them on the counter next to her, bringing his hands to her hips as he watched her work.

She laughed a little breathlessly. "Donald, you know I can't concentrate when you're this close to me," she murmured.

"Then stop looking so damn good in my shirts," he said, massaging her hips for good measure. Honestly, he just couldn't help himself – Stacie standing in his kitchen, with those legs and his shirt just did things to him.

"Guys, could we keep the sexy talk to a minimum when I'm around?" Bumper teased as he took a seat at the kitchen table. "I'd like to keep my breakfast down, thanks."

"Keep that sass up, and you _won't_ have any breakfast to keep down."

"Stacie, you wound me so."

"Got you there, didn't she?" Donald said, amused. He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth before he too took a seat.

Less than a minute later, Stacie laid down the plates of steaming pancakes, along with syrup and honey. "Bonne appetite," she said, sitting down next to Donald.

His hand went to her thigh reflexively, going up and down languidly as they began talking about anything and everything. It was, surprisingly, over breakfast that he and Stacie had gotten to know each other better.

And, surprisingly, where they had started to _like_ each other as well. Before, it had been strictly about sex but now, things had changed, and Donald was the first one shocked when he started _liking_ the change.

"How're classes going, Stace?" he asked her, helping himself to another hearty mouthful of pancake.

"Really good actually, I got an A on that Bio exam I told you about," she replied. Stacie was a Pre-Med student, which had surprised Donald the first time she'd told him. When he'd asked her why she'd joined the Bellas, she'd said, "I like singing. I don't like it enough to make it a career or anything, but I think it's fun. It's a nice distraction from all the biology and chemistry I'm taking."

Donald could relate; he was a Political Science major after all. Beatboxing to him was what singing was to Stacie – something that he loved doing on the side.

"I knew you'd do great, you studied your ass off," Donald said.

She smiled brightly, and he was pleased to note a little flush on her cheeks. Stacie had the insanely adorable trait of blushing when she was praised. "Thanks," she said. "How 'bout you?"

"Good, but I'm glad Spring Break is just two weeks away."

"Word," Bumper agreed. "Can't wait to get the hell out of this place for a while."

"Where you going?" Stacie asked, interested, her hand coming to rest on the one Donald had on her thigh.

"LA maybe, not too sure," he replied easily. "I'll figure it out soon enough."

Donald turned around to look at Stacie. "Speaking of, do _you _have any plans?" he asked.

Stacie shrugged. "My parents want me to go back home, but I kind of want to do something else. Not too sure what though."

"Why don't you come with me, then?" Donald said. "I'm going to road trip to New York. You should come with."

Stacie raised one eyebrow. "Just you and me?"

He smiled, shifting himself towards her to press a chaste kiss on her lips. "Sure. We'll have fun."

"Alright yeah," she said, standing up and taking her plate with her. "Let's do this. I've always dreamed of seeing New York."

"You and me both, baby."

Stacie smiled, washing and drying her plate. She looped an arm around Donald and gave him a kiss. "Can't wait," she murmured. "I'm gonna go take a shower, okay"

"You sure you don't want me to join?"

She slapped his arm playfully. "You and I both know that if that happens, nothing is going to get done today. And I have rehearsal in an hour," she added as an afterthought.

"Right," Bumper said. "Competition's just a couple of days away now. Think you can beat us this time?"

Stacie grimaced. "I'd rather not talk about it with you guys, thanks."

Donald and Bumper sported similar expressions of shock. "No way, you're doing _that_ arrangement again?"

"Like I said," she replied. "Not going to talk about it with you guys."

Donald held her arm and pulled her in for another kiss. "Any way I can make you change your mind about that shower?" he murmured.

"No," she said breathlessly. "But you are more than welcome to join me for my evening shower."

He grinned as he watched her walk away, swaying her hips for good measure. Stacie could be such a tease.

"So," Bumper began, effectively interrupting his much more entertaining musings about Stacie. "Spring Break, huh? You and Stace?"

"What about it?"

Bumper shot him a withered look. "Oh come on, man," he said. "I've never even seen you invite a girl to _dinner_, much less an entire _trip_."

"Hey, I've invited girls to dinner before," Donald defended. "I can be a gentleman."

"That's not the point and you know it. You like her."

"Of course I like her," Donald replied irritably. "I wouldn't have been sleeping with her for the past five months if I didn't."

Bumper shook his head. "No, you like _like_ her. As in, you have real, genuine feelings for her."

"That's crazy –,"

"Think about it. You've been sleeping with her for _five _months, give or take – exclusively, I might add. You two get along great, you obviously enjoy spending time together. For God's sake, she makes us _pancakes_ every Saturday." Bumper stood up, point made. "If that doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings for you, then nothing does."

"So what if I do? What if she does?" Donald asked warily.

"Nothing. I'm just happy for you, man," Bumper replied, patting his shoulder. "Glad you finally found a girl _you_ have trouble keeping up with."

And Donald couldn't resist the smile that turned up the corners of his mouth as Bumper left the kitchen.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Thank you guys for the lovely reviews! I'm so glad you guys have liked this story so far. As always, I always love to hear what you to say, so drop in a review :)

Much love!


	4. Quatre

**Chapitre _Quatre_**

* * *

"I know your secret."

Stacie was so startled she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Jesus, Beca!" she said, her heart beating so fast it actually hurt. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Beca gave her a knowing smile, subtly tilting her head towards the front of the bus. "You've been staring at him for the past half hour," she explained. "Put two and two together…"

Stacie blanched. "I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice sounded faint, unconvincing. She'd never claimed to be a good liar.

"It's okay, I'm not going to tell," Beca whispered. "Your secret's safe with me."

_Was it really? _Beca certainly looked like a better liar, and was heaps wittier. And besides…Stacie's eyes slid thoughtfully towards Jesse, sitting a couple of seats away. Beca certainly could sympathize, and what reason would she have to want her out of the Bellas anyway? She wanted to win just as much as the rest of them – perhaps even more, willing as she was to fight Aubrey over their horrible set. Stacie could feel herself relax; Beca, it seemed, was by far the Bella she could trust the most with her secret.

"So when did it start?" Beca asked, a little curious, a little to ease the tension she'd inadvertently created.

"The SBT party we went to after the Riff-Off," Stacie replied, still staring at Donald's back distractedly. Her eyes settled enviously on Lilly; _she _should be the one there! "He was the guy I went home with that night."

Beca whistled. "And you've managed to keep it a secret this long?" Stacie was amused – Beca sounded weirdly impressed.

"No, technically. Bumper knows."

Beca glanced automatically in Bumper's direction – who was busy trying to simultaneously taunt and flirt with Amy – and her expression could only be described as a combination of horror and shock. "Wow."

"Yeah," Stacie said, highly entertained. "Underneath all that arrogance and obnoxiousness, he's actually a good friend."

"Color me speechless then," Beca muttered. Her gaze alternated between Stacie and Donald, mystified. "So you've been seeing each other exclusively for – what, like five months?"

Stacie paused, and she did some quick mental math. "Huh," she said. "Yeah, I guess so." She looked at him again, feeling – for the umpteenth time – incredibly envious of Lilly. Stacie knew first hand how incredibly sexy Donald looked driving.

She consoled herself with the knowledge that _she_ was going to be the one going to New York with Donald in two days. The thought brought a smile to her lips.

Beca was looking at her bemusedly. "You like him," she pronounced. "_A lot_."

"Putting two and two together again?" Stacie said wryly. She liked to think she possessed a certain amount of self-awareness – and while she hadn't really realized that it'd been five months already since her and Donald had begun their thing, it was more because time truly did fly when you were having her fun than her not giving a damn.

However, she was certainly aware enough to recognize that things had stopped being just about sex between her and Donald ages ago – that she'd stopped looking at other guys because she had the best one around, that she knew all of his quirks and habits down to the little ones; that he could scorch her with just one well-placed look – and that her feelings for him had blossomed into something beautiful, but very fragile.

It was all well and good that Stacie knew how she felt, but she couldn't even begin to guess what went on behind the lenses of Donald's glasses.

And because she didn't want to ruin what they had, she didn't ask. She said as much to Beca.

"Far be it for me to tell you what to do, but you can't expect to move forward if you don't put yourself out there. No pain, no gain."

Wise advice, to be sure. But…"easier said than done," Stacie replied, staring longingly at Donald.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The ride back to campus was nothing short of hell. It didn't help that they had to go back with the Trebles, their own bus having been towed away a while a go.

Bumper was gloating, Aubrey was pointedly ignoring him, Cynthia-Rose and Amy were strangely morose, and Lilly – well, she was still sitting next to Donald, but her shoulders were slumped.

Stacie sighed, pressing her forehead against the window. She and Chloe were sitting next to each other, both quiet and contemplative. Her eyes wandered over to Jesse, who was sitting in a corner of his own, not joining in the Trebles' blatant show of victory. Stacie grimaced – he'd looked every bit the heartbroken boy ever since Beca had snapped at him, quit the Bellas, and stormed out all in one fell swoop. She'd even managed to get a ride back with her father.

"Beca was right," Stacie murmured, startling Chloe. "I mean…her singing Bulletproof was probably not the way to do it, but she was right."

"Nobody wants to hear the same set every time," Chloe agreed. "We're insulting the judges."

Stacie nodded, turning her gaze back to the window. They were getting close. Good – she was exhausted.

She must have drifted off at some point or another because she found herself blinking tiredly as Chloe gently nudged her. "Stacie, we're here," Chloe said.

Stacie bit back a yawn and stretched, watching as the Trebles practically danced their way out of the bus, while the Bellas dragged behind them. It would've been funny if it weren't so sad.

She followed Chloe out of the bus, joining the Bellas – minus Aubrey – in a little circle. "Well girls," Amy said, her smile a tad wobbly, a little forced. "It's been a nice ride."

"We had fun," Chloe said. "I'm glad I got to meet you girls."

"Cheers. We should get together sometime," Cynthia-Rose joined in, a wistful grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Stacie couldn't help but agree. "Catch you guys later," she said, grabbing her bag as the Bellas dispersed. Her heart felt heavy in her chest as she started walking towards her dorm. In spite of it all, she really did have fun. She wished they could've made it to the end – to Lincoln Center.

A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, effectively interrupting her thoughts. She found herself pinned to the bus. Donald grinned as he affectionately nuzzled her neck. "Hey," he said softly. "I missed you."

Stacie managed a small, brittle smile. "Hey," she replied, her throat tight. "Missed you too."

Donald frowned, having no trouble figuring out that something wasn't quite right with her. "Baby, what's wrong?"

His eyes were so soft, concern written plainly on the planes of his incredibly handsome face. His hand came to stroke her cheek carefully, as though she might break any second.

Turns out, she did. Stacie dissolved into tears as she buried her face in Donald's chest in a vain attempt to muffle her sobs. His arms wrapped her around her automatically, rubbing her back in soothing circles as she continued to cry. He whispered words of comfort into her hair, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. "Stacie," he murmured. "Baby, I didn't know you were so upset."

"I didn't know it either," she said miserably, ashamed at her outburst. But the tears wouldn't stop, and she buried her face deeper into his chest, both sad and embarrassed. "God, I don't know why I'm so worked up over this."

"It's okay," he soothed. "I'm here."

He stayed with her, holding her in the warmth of his embrace until the tears finally stopped and her sobs were reduced to slow, even breaths. He kept his arms around her still, being every bit the knight in shining armor.

Stacie walked slowly out of his embrace, flushing with embarrassment as she met his soft, worried gaze. She couldn't handle how…_loving_ he looked. It was messing with her head, her heart. She looked away. "I'm sorry you had to see that," she whispered finally, cheeks flushing redder.

He frowned, expression slowly morphing into one of confusion. "What do you mean? You cried, no big deal. There's nothing to be ashamed of," he murmured, reaching his hand out to stroke her arm.

Stacie shrugged it away. "I know, but…I…you," she sighed. "You stayed when you didn't have to. It's messing with my head because, I know you don't want a relationship but then you do little things like this and…and…"

Comprehension flooded Donald's eyes, like the final piece of a puzzle. She was looking everywhere but at him, her face still flushed, her bottom lip trembling a little. He moved a little towards her, placing a gentle hand underneath her chin, tipping it upwards so that she was forced to look at him. "I like you Stacie," he said, his mouth turning at the corners. "I like you a lot. I stayed with you because I wanted to, because I hate to see you cry."

Air left her lungs. "You've never seen me cry before," she said weakly.

He smiled. "I have now. I can't get you out of my head. If I'm not with you, I'm thinking about you. I…I want to be with you. All the time."

And Stacie's face split into her first real smile of the night. Her cheeks were still red, but it was for an entirely other reason. "I want to be with you too," she said.

"Good," he replied, breath ghosting over her lips, a promise of things to come. "I was hoping you'd say that."

He kissed her, underneath the wide canopy of stars, and Stacie felt fireworks explode beneath her eyelids.

* * *

**Author's** **Note: **So technically, this could be the end of this story...meep, if I hadn't already begun writing the next one. As always keep the reviews coming - they warm my heart and make me smile. You can expect another "flashback" chapter, since next one's going to go back a little in time.

Much love!


	5. Cinq

**Chapitre _Cinq _**

* * *

He loved watching her dance.

There was something oddly soothing about the grace with which she held herself as she spun around, arms arched over her head. Her eyes were trained strictly on the mirror, glazed over pleasantly – as if dancing transported her into some other world that was more magical and beautiful than this one.

Today, more so than any other day, Donald had his suspicions that it actually might be.

As Stacie finished her choreography with a flourish, she blinked – the glaze gone – and smiled as their eyes connected in the mirror. "Hey," she said, turning around and walking up to him, arms joining languidly behind his head.

He held her waist, his hands rubbing circles across the length of her back distractedly. Stacie frowned. "Donald is everything okay?"

The corners of his mouth turned up wryly. It should be bizarre, how attuned to each other they'd become, but it wasn't. Over the months, he'd slowly come to realize that Stacie wasn't quite like any other girl he'd ever gotten with, and Spring Break had only solidified that feeling. They'd been together every waking moment of every day all that week, and he _still_ couldn't get enough of her.

Donald blew a frustrated breath, hands tightening subtly on her waist. "Bumper's an asshole," he said.

"Um, yeah I'm pretty sure that's been established for awhile now," she joked. When he didn't join in, her frown became more pronounced. "Oh no. What'd he do?"

"He left," Donald said scathingly, hatred and hurt simultaneously bubbling up in his chest. "The fucker just up and left for LA an hour ago. Lorded it over our heads too, because that's what Bumper does."

"_What_? What'd he go to LA for?"

"Fucking sing backup for John Mayer." Donald made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat. "You know what? I'm happy for him, he's a good singer, but he could've just waited two more goddamn days until the final was over before leaving. Instead, we're here trying to find a replacement for him who can learn the set in just under forty-eight hours."

Stacie remained quiet, watching as Donald breathed hard, trying to calm himself down. He didn't have to tell her that he wasn't just angry; that he was sad that the guy he'd been best friends with since freshman orientation had just left him out cold; that, even though Bumper _was_ a grade A jerk, he'd always been a good friend, and that he'd just let him down in the worst way possible.

He was glad that no words needed to be spoken, because – aside from the fact that he didn't _do _girly shit like this – Donald wasn't sure he could've articulated what he felt anyway. Stacie wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself impossibly closer to him, and he gladly drowned in the warmth of her embrace, drinking in her perfume and her words and her touch eagerly.

"Forget about him," Stacie said, stepping out of his arms slightly and cupping his face in her hands. Her eyes – so uncharacteristically serious – were tinged with concern at the edges. "Bumper's an asshole. You guys can do this without him. _He's _nothing without the Trebles, not the opposite."

Donald nodded slowly, shoulders sagging as his temper finally cooled. He pressed his forehead to Stacie's, eyes lidded. "How are you this good?" he murmured in wonder.

She smiled, pressing a kiss to his mouth. "You're lucky you got yourself a great girlfriend," she teased in between kisses. She linked one of her hands with his, intertwining their fingers. "Come on, let's get our of here."

* * *

"Bumper _left_?" Beca said, for what felt like the umpteenth time. The shock still hadn't left her expression.

Stacie smiled wryly as she propped her feet up on the desk, careful not to disrupt any of the fancy radio station equipment. Luke was out, leaving Beca to play her remixes to her heart's content. Stacie had dropped in a little while ago to relay the news.

"You keep asking like you're expecting me to give you a different answer."

"Is it bad if I am?"

"Not really," Stacie replied, as Beca began playing a new track, a lovely remix of Kesha songs blended with David Guetta. It worked surprisingly well. "Donald's pretty upset about it," she admitted.

Beca nodded. "Yeah, I'm not surprised," she replied, her features slowly morphing into ones of disgust. "I knew Bumper was a jerk, but that pretty low – even for him."

"You don't do that to your team," Stacie agreed. "I mean, yeah it's John Mayer –,"

"It doesn't matter. He had a team here, a family. LA's going to be pretty lonely for him, no matter who he's singing for."

Stacie's eyes slid towards Beca. "Correct me if I'm wrong," she began teasingly. "But didn't _you_ want to do the same thing earlier this year?"

Beca flushed. "It doesn't matter," she said, waving it off, to Stacie's endless amusement. "Do you know who they're replacing Bumper with?"

"Uh-huh. Jesse managed to convince the Trebles to let Benji in. Donald told me Benji's actually a pretty decent singer…" Stacie's voice trailed as she took in Beca, who'd stiffened imperceptibly when she'd mentioned Jesse's name. Stacie's eyes softened sympathetically; things between Jesse and Beca hadn't gotten better to say the least. If the letter of resignation still perched neatly on the shelf above them was of any indication, things had only gotten worse.

"Have you talked to him?" she asked.

Beca shook her head. "I told you," she said, reflexively switching tracks as the last one came to its end. "There's nothing left to say. He said he was done." Her voice had dropped just a hint – the Beca equivalent to sadness.

"He's not done. Trust me," Stacie assured. "He wouldn't have opened the door in the first place if he was."

"I thought so too, but Stacie, you should've seen his face." Beca's eyes were carefully devoid of any emotion. "He looked…defeated."

"You've stopped him from playing knight in shining armor to your damsel in distress – twice, I might add. Of course he looked defeated. Doesn't mean he _gave up_," Stacie said, bumping her shoulders with Beca. She smiled at her. "And besides, once he'll hear you sing _that _song at Lincoln Center – trust me, he'll gladly come back to you."

"It's not like – oh, shut up," Beca mumbled when Stacie gave her a look. "I'm done talking about this."

"Suit yourself," Stacie replied cheerily, at the same moment her phone vibrated. Curious, she took it out of her pocket.

**NEW TEXT**

From: Donald

Wanna come over? I have James Bond movies and lasagna.

7:30PM

Stacie smiled before she could help herself. A night in with Donald sounded great, but she was nothing if not a tease, and texted back a quick reply.

**NEW TEXT**

From: Stacie

That depends…what James Bond movies?

7:32PM

"Lover boy calling?" Beca teased. Stacie rolled her eyes at the nickname, but nodded nonetheless.

"He wants me to come over," she said, sliding the lock on her phone to read his text.

**NEW TEXT**

From: Donald

Roger Moore sound good to you?

7:34PM

**NEW TEXT**

From: Stacie

You know me too well. Be there in fifteen.

7:35PM

**NEW TEXT**

From: Donald

Are you insane? I'll come pick you up. You're still at the radio station right?

7:36PM

Stacie felt heat rise to her cheeks as she texted back a quick 'yes', ignoring Beca's knowing look. It always took her by surprise – this protective side of Donald. And yet, it felt nice to be taken care of like this.

He was a better boyfriend than she could've ever asked for. She smiled inwardly; and he was all hers.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go," Stacie said, giving Beca an apologetic glance. "You gonna be okay here?"

"You kidding? I've been dying to play my music _all year_ here. Go have fun. I'll see you at rehearsal tomorrow," she added as an afterthought.

Stacie grinned as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "Yeah," she said. "I'm actually looking forward to rehearsal. The arrangement's pretty kickass."

Beca made a noise of agreement. "Have fun."

_Oh I will, _she couldn't help but think as she walked out of the radio station. Her heart fluttered in her chest when, less than a minute later, Donald's car parked smoothly in front of her. He smiled at her in that terribly irresistible sexy way of his as he stepped out of his car.

"Ready to go?" he said, snaking an arm around her waist as he pulled her in for a kiss.

Stacie closed her eyes, smiling. "Hmm," she said. "A night of Roger Moore, lasagna, and you. It doesn't get any better than that."

His eyes were soft as he looked at her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, her nose, her lips. "It really doesn't."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Sorry it took so long guys. I actually had something else written, but it was so godawful I had to scrap it and start over. Hope you liked this one – as always, if you liked it, please drop in a review!

Much love!


	6. Six

**Chapitre _Six_**

* * *

Stacie blew a relieved breath as she slid the key into her dorm room's lock. Finally, she was back at Barden.

Though Winter Break had been a welcome relief from classes and the Bellas – Aubrey, mostly. That girl was too wound up for her own good – the trip back had been nothing short of hell. Her flight from Santa Barbara to LA had been pushed back an hour, almost making her miss the next connecting flight into Denver. Through some miracle Stacie could only assume was divine, she'd made it just in time – only to discover that her flight into Atlanta had _also _been pushed back, this time by a grand total of three hours.

Needless to say, she was exhausted.

And incredibly frustrated too, but that was for entirely different reasons. She was supposed to hang out with Donald all day, but _that_ plan had blown up pretty nicely in her face.

She'd missed him, missed his touch, his kisses, and the way he'd always pick her up into his arms whenever they dropped into bed together. He was a rather exceptional lover – perhaps the best she's ever been with. So good that she hadn't been with anyone else ever since they first hooked up in October – but Stacie didn't dwell on that for much longer, preferring to sulk about the fact that she was going to have to wait until probably tomorrow to see him.

She dragged her suitcase into the room and flopped onto her bed, determined to get some sleep. Her roommate still wasn't back; probably wouldn't be for a while since she lived a measly fifteen minutes away from campus. _Lucky bitch_, Stacie thought, pulling the covers to her more tightly. Though it wasn't exactly cold in Georgia, it was a far cry from the pleasant seventy-degree weather she enjoyed back in Santa Barbara. As her eyes began to close, she stole a glance at her suitcase, sitting neatly in the middle of the room. Yes, she thought to herself sleepily, unpacking would have to wait.

She woke up a little while later to find her phone buzzing. She yawned, extending her arms above her head in a stretch, and reached over to grab her phone from her desk.

Almost immediately, Stacie smiled. It was Donald. "Hey," she purred – or attempted to, anyway, before another yawn forced itself out of her mouth. "What's up?"

"Everything okay?" was his amused reply. "You sound tired."

"Just woke up, actually."

"Oh. Flying back here that awful, huh?"

Stacie groaned. "You have no idea," she replied, falling back onto her pillows.

"Considering I drive here, probably not, no," he teased, laughing quietly. Stacie glared at the phone enviously – Donald was from Tallahassee, which was at a very convenient four hours away from Barden.

"You don't have to be a jerk about it," she replied, feigning anger.

"I'm sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. His voice dropped an octave. "Let me make it up to you."

She felt a shiver run down her spine. Donald's voice could do very pleasant things to her – especially when it was all sexy and low and persuasive, like it was now.

"Really?" she murmured. "How would you make it up to me?"

"Why don't I come over so you can find out? Your roommate's not in yet, right?"

"Right." Stacie scrambled up and hurried to the full-length mirror attached to her door, frantically combing through her hair. "When are you going to get here?"

"Be there in ten," he said, before hanging up. Stacie threw her phone on her bed carelessly as she began to fret over her appearance. She thanked whatever deity was above that she'd worn sexy underwear today, just in case something like this happened. Nothing she could do about the frumpy airport look she was sporting, but at least her eyeliner wasn't running. She reapplied a dash of gloss and a spritz of perfume, fluffing her hair for good measure. She smiled at her reflection – she looked pretty doable.

Just in time too – Stacie's heart fluttered in her chest when she heard a knock at the door. Smiling, she opened it, her teeth coming down to bite her bottom lip when her eyes connected with Donald's.

He _definitely _looked pretty doable.

His mouth curved upwards at the edges as he stepped in the room, his hands automatically coming to rest on the small of her back. Before she could say anything, his lips crashed down on hers hard, taking her by storm.

She moaned into the kiss, her hands sliding up and threading themselves in Donald's hair. His mouth moved over hers expertly, as if it was reacquainting itself with very familiar territory. It seemed to be reacquainting very well, Stacie thought distractedly, because Donald was doing everything she liked, causing her legs to become quite useless in the process.

"Stop. Doing. Things. To me," she said in between kisses, catching his bottom lip between her teeth punishingly. She could feel him smirking into her mouth as her legs promptly gave out, like they both knew they would.

He picked her up effortlessly, hands gripping the back of her thighs as her legs entwined themselves around his waist. Stacie ran her fingers down his back and back up to his neck, scraping lightly at the nape. He groaned as he let them fall on the bed, him on top of her. Donald broke the kiss, dragging his mouth onto her neck instead.

Stacie gasped for breath, unwrapping one of her legs from his waist to tangle it with his own, pressing herself closer to him in the process.

"God, I missed you," he groaned out as her hands slipped underneath his shirt.

She took the opportunity to capture his mouth into another series of kisses. "Missed…you…too," her voice became breathy towards the end when he pressed several open mouthed kisses up and down her collarbone.

Her hands bunched into his shirt as she drowned into him, knowing that she wouldn't resurface until much, much later.

* * *

Bumper walked into the house he shared with Donald to find him sprawled on the living room couch, arm hanging languidly around Stacie. Her legs were stretched over his, head resting on his shoulder. Between them were two bags of chips, a tub of ice cream, and a bottle of soda.

In short, nothing too unusual from what the two usually did on a Sunday evening. "What're you watching?" he asked, walking behind them and stealing a couple of chips.

"Fight Club," Stacie replied, swatting at his hand. "Don't steal my Cheetos!"

"Don't sit on my couch."

Donald pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. "_Our_ couch, Bumper," he reminded him, trailing his hand up and down Stacie's arm.

"Tomato, tomahto,"Bumper said, coming down to sit beside the both of them. He propped his feet on the table. "So why Fight Club? Aren't girls supposed to be into girly shit like Mean Girls?"

Stacie sent him a withering look. "I like Fight Club. It's a good movie. If you stopped being such a misogynist and got your head out of your ass once in a while, you'd see that girls can like movies like Fight Club _and_ still watch Mean Girls."

"Ouch," Bumper replied. "That almost hurt."

Stacie's eyes remained firmly glued to the screen. "Good."

Donald ignored them, having become accustomed to this strange banter Stacie and Bumper had going on. They were surprisingly really good friends – it was just that they couldn't let themselves get along _too_ well all the time, on the principle that he was a Treble and she was a Bella.

He didn't bother with the flaws in that logic, so he just let it happen.

"So how was your break, Stace?" Bumper asked, stealing a couple more of her chips. Stacie didn't bother to reprimand him this time around.

She simply rolled her eyes at him. "Pretty good, went back to Santa Barbara," she said. "How about you?"

"Went home too," he replied. "Then went to visit my man in Tallahassee."

"You guys came back together?"

Donald nodded, sliding his hand down Stacie's calves distractedly. Ever since freshman year, Bumper had made it a habit to come visit him over break for a week so they could go back to campus together. It was a lot more convenient for Bumper, since he was from Jersey, and tickets to Georgia were expensive as all hell. "Didn't Beca come visit you for a bit?" Donald asked.

"Uh-huh. She wanted to go visit LA so she stayed with me for a little while. Amy came with her," she added almost as an afterthought, linking and unlinking her fingers with Donald's again and again, as if it was the most interesting thing she could do.

At the mention of Amy, Bumper straightened, eyes sliding towards Stace inquisitively. "Amy went to see you?"

"Well yeah. Since break's only a month long, she thought it'd be too much trouble to go all the way back to Tasmania. So she went home with Beca," Stacie explained. "And since Beca came to visit, she tagged along."

"I see, " he murmured to himself. Stacie and Donald shared an amused look. Bumper's infatuation with Amy was a great source of entertainment for them.

"You girls have fun?" Donald asked.

"Yeah, we had a blast."

"That's nice."

They drifted into a companionable silence, enjoying the rest of the movie and laughing quietly at Bumper's persistent questions about what she'd done over break when Amy and Beca had come to visit. Stacie was sorely tempted to tell him that Amy had hit it off with all her guy friends and had made out with so many others (which wasn't that far off from the truth. Amy _was _a hit with the boys), but she didn't, waving off his questions lightheartedly.

At one point, jet lag caught up with her and she yawned softly, pressing herself closer to Donald. She smiled when he wrapped his arm around her as she closed her eyes, and drifted off into sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Just in case you were confused this _was_ a "flashback" chapter so-to-speak. This was actually supposed to be chapter five but it was so awful I couldn't bare to post it. Luckily, third (or the hundredth, really) time's the charm, and it came out quiet nicely :D. Your reviews make me smile – I haven't been able to get back to you guys in a long time because school's started, and it's been a little rough, but know that they mean a lot to me, and that I get really happy when you guys tell me that you love how I write Stacie and Donald.

My reply to you is that: I love YOU guys, for being so awesome and reviewing each time.


	7. Sept

**~ Chapitre _Sept_ ~**

* * *

Donald stared up at Stacie confusedly as he set the table. "Someone at the door?" he asked, even as he heard another knock, this time more pronounced than the last.

"That's weird," she said, placing the plate of pancakes on the table. "Who'd stop by on a Friday morning?"

"I don't know. My parents aren't supposed to get here until tomorrow evening." He wiped his hands on a washcloth and gave her a brief kiss on the lips. "I better go check."

Walking to the door, not many possibilities crossed Donald's mind. So close to his graduation day, there weren't too many people who'd just drop by for a visit. Even his family had agreed to come only a day earlier.

So when he opened the door, he couldn't have been more surprised by the person who stood a little sheepishly behind it.

"_Bumper_?" Donald said incredulously. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The corners of Bumper's mouth crooked into the shadow of a smile. "Can't I come to my own graduation?" he joked.

"Not when you ditch us to go to LA," Donald replied smoothly, having regained his composure, face shuttering into an expression of impassiveness. He started closing the door. "Asshole."

Bumper grabbed the door with his hand and wedged his foot in. "Come on Donald. Hear me out."

"I don't need to. Let me guess: your little stint in LA didn't work out the way you thought it would. Either you sucked, or John Mayer didn't recognize your amazing singing abilities immediately, and you got pissy about staying in the background, so you came back."

Bumper had the grace to wince.

Donald let out a breath. "That's what I thought," he said, and started closing the door once more.

"Wait, man, come on." Bumper wedged his feet in more firmly. "I know you're pissed and –"

"Fuck you, don't tell me how I feel."

"Donald?" Stacie's voice floated over to the two men from the kitchen. "Donald, who is it?"

_Shit_.He closed his eyes briefly. "No one, babe," he called out.

"Stace he's lying. It's me!"

"_Bumper_?"

They could hear the rhythmic beat of Stacie's footsteps as she padded over here. Donald gritted his teeth. "Happy now, you jerk?" he said, glaring at Bumper.

Bumper ignored him, smiling as he saw Stacie walk behind Donald, inching the door wider. "Hey, Stacie," he said good-naturedly. "Long time no see."

She blinked in surprise as her arm reflexively went to Donald's waist. "Bumper, what're you doing here?"

He groaned. "Not you too! What, can a guy just not show up anymore?"

Donald was about to snarl back a reply, but the warning press of Stacie's hand on his side stopped him.

"Sure _a guy_ can," Stacie said diplomatically. "But you're not just _a guy_, and as far as I know, _you _were the one who wanted to leave." She smiled at him then, eyes soft and gentle. "Besides, we both know that's not why you're really back."

Donald watched in hidden amazement as Bumper deflated, a look of defeat crossing his face. "You're right," he conceded, smiling wryly back at her. "Can I at least come in and explain?"

Stacie glanced at Donald, whose mouth was pressed into a hard, unforgiving line. She knew it had been hard for him, watching his best friend walk out the way he did. Donald wasn't one to hold a grudge, but his forgiveness wasn't easily won either. Stacie had honestly no idea what he would do.

He sighed. "You've got five minutes," he said, popping the door open. "Then I swear I'll kick you out."

"Deal," Bumper said earnestly, walking into the house that had once also been his. Everything still looked the same, but – his eyes shifted upstairs – he highly doubted his room had received the same treatment.

They walked into the kitchen, where Donald immediately took a seat at the table, shoulders stiff, expression inscrutable. Bumper's eyebrows rose as he took in the plate of freshly made pancakes. "Today's not Saturday," he remarked in obvious surprise.

"Yeah well lots of things have changed here," Donald intoned.

"Since you…uh…_left_, I've been spending the night here a lot more often." Stacie shrugged.

"How'd you not get found out?"

"Everyone's known about us since the Bellas won at Lincoln Center you dumbass," Donald snapped. "Now start talking or I'll kick your ass out."

_Dumbass, jerk, asshole…I'm getting the works here, _Bumper thought wryly to himself. It was certainly well deserved. "Right," he said. "Listen, man, when that assistant called, and told me John Mayer wanted me as a backup singer, I freaked. I mean, it was _John Mayer_, man." He looked at Donald in earnest, but his face was blank.

He sighed. "Look, I know I fucked up. I shouldn't have left when I did, but I honestly thought that this might be my big break. You don't know what's like, man. Singing for the Trebles was a nice way to pass the time for you. You always raved about going to law school or campaigning for Obama. You had great plans – a great future.

"But it's not like that for me. The Trebles wasn't a hobby – it was my chance at a _career_. I'm a Music and Theater major – there's nothing else I want to do with my life. Let's face it, there's a chance in a million I was gonna make it big enough to get a record deal somewhere."

Donald remained silent.

"So when this opportunity came up, I couldn't turn it down. It was my once in a lifetime chance to make it happen for me. I was so focused on making it happen that I couldn't think about anything else." Bumper let out a breath. "I'm sorry, man."

Donald blinked rapidly, a swirl of emotions playing across his face. The steady and warm press of Stacie's hand on his shoulder snapped him out, however. He glanced at her, and felt himself calmer already.

He looked at Bumper, and held out his hand to him. "You were an asshole," he said simply. "But I get where you're coming from. I'm glad you're back, man."

They clapped hands. Bumper's mouth curved. "Me too."

* * *

Stacie wiped misty eyes, clapping and cheering the hardest as Donald was handed his diploma. This was it – her boyfriend had finally graduated.

His eyes locked with hers, and he gave her his winning smile; the one he reserved only for her. Her heart twisted in her chest and she smiled back.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur, and Stacie only snapped out of her daze once the graduates threw their hats into the air, officially all done with college.

She went with Amy, Beca, and the other Bellas to congratulate Chloe and Aubrey, who were both crying as they hugged each and everyone of them.

Chloe sobbed a little as she hugged Beca. "I'm going to miss you so much!" she wailed.

Beca smiled, patting the redhead awkwardly on the back. "Chloe, come on. You're getting your MBA _here_. We'll see each other all the time."

Stacie and Amy shared an amused look as Chloe hugged Beca a little harder, lamenting that it wouldn't be the same.

She peered discretely underneath her eyelashes at Donald, who was currently taking pictures with his parents and siblings. Though she'd met his family last night when they'd invited her for dinner, she still didn't feel right going up there just yet, wanting to give them some time alone with him. Besides – she smiled to herself – it looked like his younger brother had really missed him, if the way he kept wedging himself firmly between anyone and Donald was of any indication. Jake, at eleven, was a cute kid. Stacie was positive he was going to grow up to be just as handsome as his older brother.

She glanced at his older sister, who was taking the pictures with good nature. On top of being a very astute businesswoman, Natasha was also a photographer on the side. She regarded photography the same way Stacie and Donald looked at singing.

As if he read her mind, Donald caught her eye and smile, beckoning her to come over. She smiled hesitantly as she slowly made her way over, her smile becoming more confident as she looked at the soft light shining in his eyes.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied, swallowing thickly. She would not cry. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Donald engulfed her in a fierce hug, and Stacie gladly melted in the warmth of his embrace, clutching onto the material of his graduation gown tightly.

"Oh, Nat, you have to take a picture of this!"

"Mother, I'm on it."

Stacie's breathless laughed was muffled against Donald's chest as he pressed her harder to him. She stepped out slightly to give him a kiss on the cheek.

He surprised her by holding on to her more firmly. "You'll come visit me, right?" he asked, the sheer intensity of his gaze sending shivers down her spine.

Stacie linked their fingers together tenderly. "Of course," she replied. "DC's not that far away. I'll come see you once a month."

One of his dark eyebrows rose in thinly veiled amusement. They both knew DC was a good six hundred miles from Atlanta. And yet, he knew Stacie was serious about visiting him once a month.

His heart warmed. He was on the right track to falling hopelessly in love with her.

"Tell you what," he said affectionately. "How about we keep the once a month thing, but I meet you halfway? Like in Charlotte or something."

Her smile was almost blinding. "Deal."

Just as Stacie pressed a kiss to his mouth, an ear-splitting screech echoed across the field. They all turned around to find a perfectly livid Amy glaring daggers at a very confused Bumper.

"Jesus, Amy what's your problem?" Bumper asked.

"_You're _my problem you arrogant son of a bitch! No offense, Mrs. Allen," Amy added, glancing briefly at Bumper's stricken mother. "I can't believe you!"

"What'd I do _now_?" he said, clearly annoyed.

"You left is what you did! And you show up again expecting everyone to forget that you just abandoned us. Well you can forget about _that_ plan!"

"You're crazy you know that? Why are you so hard on my ass about this? Unless," and Bumper's expression turned sly. "Unless you missed me, of course."

Amy scoffed, though there was a betraying flush beginning to creep at the base of her neck. "_Missed _you? Please! Give me a break, I didn't –" Amy paused in her train of thought as her eyes connected with Bumper's, whose expression was decidedly very uncharacteristic. From where Stacie was standing, it looked like a sweet blend between admiration and genuine affection.

"Oh damn it all to hell," Amy muttered and crushed her lips to Bumper's.

Stacie laughed as everyone watching began to whoop and cheer, Donald being the loudest. She shared a look with Donald, who's arm was still very much tight around her waist, as she glanced back amusedly at Bumper and Amy.

Of course, their first kiss _had_ to be in front of a crowd this big. Those two couldn't do anything without an audience.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry guys for the long wait! I hope you liked this chapter :) For those of you who may not know this, I'm a second year college student, and spring semester is all kinds of hard right now. Because of that, I don't know if I'll be able to update as frequently as I did before, and so I'd like to say that, while I could still add to this story, this could be a very plausible end to it. We'll see. But at any rate, thank you guys for being so great, I'm so glad I found fellow Stacie x Donald fans with whom I could share this story with.

Much love!


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